---
He died in a warm bed, surrounded by medals, memories, and silence.
Admiral James Reeve, United States Navy (Ret.), passed away at the age of 91. The final breath left his lips like a gentle breeze across calm water. No pain. No fanfare. Just peace.
And then the world came back—loud, alien, and humming with power.
---
"SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE."
His eyes snapped open.
The tang of salt. The hum of turbines. The muted thump of boots on metal decking. The hiss of hydraulics and the low rumble of a diesel generator firing in sync with a gas turbine.
He was on a ship.
Not just any ship—he knew this ship.
The bridge was clean and dark steel, the panels gleaming, the layout unmistakable: a German Navy F125 Brandenburg-class frigate. He recognized the armament configurations, the COMINT stations, the updated CMS console. It had been years since he'd stepped foot on one, but the design hadn't changed.
Yet everything was...off. There was no comm chatter, no weather reports, no maritime noise. Only the low pulse of the engines and the sound of waves breaking against the hull.
He took a step forward. Light. Smooth. He expected a creak in his knee, a twinge in his hip. But it didn't come.
Strange.
He paused, brought his hands up. Smooth. Strong. The age spots were gone. The scars—faded. He looked down at his arms, his chest, his legs—everything lean, cut, tight with strength he hadn't had in decades.
He caught a reflection in the dark glass of a powered-down radar screen.
His own face stared back—but younger. Late twenties. Maybe thirty at most. Strong jaw. Steady gaze. No grey, no lines.
He stepped closer. Touched the glass.
"What the hell…"
Before he could question further, a glowing tactical screen bloomed to life with a cold blue UI:
> WELCOME, ADMIRAL JAMES REEVE.
NAVAL COMMAND SYSTEM ONLINE.
YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED FOR DEPLOYMENT TO: OCEAN WORLD 001
STARTING PACKAGE: MODERN FRIGATE (F125) | BASE MODULE: TIER I
TUTORIAL: [SKIP] / [BEGIN]
WARNING: ACTIVE PLAYERS: 1,014,229
WARNING: NON-HUMAN THREATS DETECTED IN REGION
He took a slow breath, steadying himself like he had in every storm, every battle, every black-flag op he'd run in his life.
"You brought me back," he murmured. "And made me young again."
"Either I'm dreaming," he muttered, "or God's got one hell of a sense of humor."
---
Outside the bridge viewport, the ocean stretched forever—an unbroken expanse of blue and grey, swells rolling endlessly beneath a clear sky. There was land nearby, though—small, sharp outcroppings of rock and jungle. One larger island loomed closer, shaped like a spearhead, its beaches marked by strange structures.
He zoomed in on the tactical display.
> "Home Island – Tier I Military Outpost."
Status: Operational
Personnel: 0
Power: Stable
Defenses: Offline
Another tab flicked open:
> STARTING SHIP:
FGS Brandenburg
F125 Frigate
Displacement: 7,200 tons
Armament: 1x 127mm naval gun, 2x RAM launchers, 2x 27mm autocannons, 8x NSM anti-ship missiles
Aircraft: 2x NH90 Helos (Hangar Bay)
Crew: AI-Controlled (Skeleton Crew Mode: Active)
He pressed his hand to the console. Warm. Responsive. Real.
A voice crackled through the intercom—female, calm, synthetic:
"Commander, system integration complete. Skeleton crew online. Awaiting orders."
"Status report," he ordered instinctively.
"Ship is combat-ready. Sensors online. Ammunition full. Fuel reserves at 90%. Base operational but underdeveloped. Perimeter unsecured. No other human vessels detected within 200 nautical miles. Unknown biological signatures detected east-southeast."
Biological?
He moved to the console and scanned the local area.
Blips. Dozens of them. Moving underwater at unnatural speeds. He magnified the readout—something massive, scaled, pulsing with heat and cold in equal measure. No known maritime signature matched.
"Leviathans," he whispered. "What the hell is this place?"
---
He stepped out onto the top deck, wind catching his dark hair, the smell of ocean salt sharp in his lungs. Below, the sea was calm, but alive. He felt it in his bones—some primal sense that the water here wasn't just water. It was territory. Owned. Watched.
On the horizon, far off, he saw it: a column of black smoke rising. Another ship—older, likely wooden, possibly steam-driven—burning.
"Someone else is out there," he said.
The system chimed again.
> MISSION ALERT: NEARBY PLAYER VESSEL UNDER ATTACK
CHOOSE:
[IGNORE] / [ASSIST]
REWARD: 500 Gold, +1 Favor (Player Reputation)
"Other people," he realized. "This isn't just me."
He selected [ASSIST].
"Plot intercept course. Let's see what these bastards think of modern firepower."
---
Ten minutes later, the Brandenburg surged across the waves at 21 knots. His crew—automated, precise—moved in lockstep. The AEGIS-style radar picked up the enemy vessels: pirate ships, half-wood, half-metal monstrosities held together with chains and sails and steam. They were closing in on a schooner desperately trying to flee.
He switched to manual targeting.
"Fire control, lock RAM launchers. Priority: fast attack skiffs. Then bring the 127 to bear."
"Targeting locked. Weapons free."
"Light them up."
Missiles screamed from their pods, trailing smoke and flame across the blue. They slammed into the first pirate ship mid-chase, blowing it apart in a plume of splinters and fire. The 127mm naval gun roared once, then twice—each shell sending up fountains of sea and shredded hull.
It wasn't a fight.
It was an execution.
---
When the smoke cleared, the schooner drifted, damaged but afloat. A flag waved—white and red. The system updated:
> PLAYER: "CAPTAIN MIRA" – SAVED
Reward: 500 Gold, 3x Supply Crates, Map Fragment
Faction: Unaligned
Message Incoming
He opened it.
> Thank you, Admiral. I've never seen a ship like yours before… How did you get that kind of tech? Everyone else is still using cannons.
—Captain Mira
He smiled grimly.
"I had a head start."
He closed the message and turned back to his display. The AI spoke again.
"Admiral, shipyard construction available. Suggest initiating research module installation. Leviathan activity increasing."
"Then let's get to work."
He tapped a command:
> BUILD SHIPYARD (TIER I) — COST: 300 GOLD, 200 STEEL
INSTALL RESEARCH MODULE — COST: 1,000 GOLD
STATUS: QUEUED
The ocean may belong to monsters.
But he was here now.
And the sea had just met its next admiral.
---
[End of Chapter One]
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